Birth of Dragon Dung
by Aisling Yinyr Ngaio
Summary: Aveyond 2. The rise of Dragon Dung, otherwise known as Prince Uthar Pendragon of Thais. Minor swearing.
1. Rude Awakening

**Birth of Dragon Dung**

Part 1: Rude Awakening

Waking up ever so slowly in a place that was totally unfamiliar to him, Prince Uthar Pendragon had to blink several times to make sure that this wasn't the remnants of some horrible dream. He _should_ have been in his bedroom in Thais castle, waking up on a soft feather bed with a castle maid bringing in his breakfast in a tray, After all, he _was_ the Crown Prince of Thais.

Instead, he woke up with bile in his throat and no idea of where, what or who he was. Hoping that his head would stop spinning for five seconds and his back didn't feel so stiff, he groaned feelingly, covering his eyes in the hope that the sunlight would stop blinding him. He failed to realise that he was on a ship, with its captain at the doorway of the cabin, staring at him as he lay in all his drunken glory on the floor of the cabin, through narrowed eyes. He would do better to have seen the gleam starting to shine in the captain's eyes.

Turning with a whispered command and a stifled chuckle, she dispatched one of her crew on her bidding. Orc returned with the requested item, and grinned ferociously, revealing the gaps in his teeth, "Too bad we can't assemble the crew for this showing. Thorp would take exception to missing the drenching of a wetlander. Haha! 'Drenching of a wetlander'!"

"Very funny, Orc. As it is, this brat needs to be taught a lesson." So saying, the captain stepped forward and dumped the entire contents of the bucket on the prince's head.

_Nothing so effective as a bucket of cold water into one's face_, Uthar thought as he sputtered and coughed, his headache almost gone in the face of this new danger. When he managed to finally open his eyes blearily, he only had the energy to say plaintively, "Please, goddess, spare me from this torment."

A crisp voice was his only reply, "Unfortunately, the goddess is neither here nor there, and she certainly won't be on board a pirate's ship. Wake up, fool! You're taking up space on my cabin floor, and unless you want to keep your life, get up, and be quick about it!"

Another hearty snigger had Rip sending Orc on more errands, irritated at the men on her ship. Orc went willingly, eager to share the story to his ship mates, before returning in accordance to the captain's orders. In the meantime, Uthar was finally able focus his vision on the captain of the… pirate ship? Uh oh. Not only was he on a pirate ship, but he recognised this woman.

"Hey! I saw you yesterday!"

Rip snorted. "I'm surprised that you even remember. You were so foxed and singing so loudly with your _noble_ friends that my crew were this close to gutting you where you stand. I had to herd them back to the ship and oversee their chores _myself_ to make sure they don't give in to the temptation."

Now that his wits were slowly coming back to him, he remembered more and more of the previous night, though the visions were still a weird jumble of events. Suspiciously, he asked, "Did you kidnap me? Do you know who I am? Kidnapping royalty is punishable by death."

Another snort. "Like I would want to kidnap a good-for-nothing lout who would be more trouble than good. I was actually impressed that you managed to walk across the gangplank without falling over OR attracting our notice until we've sailed away from the port. Quite a feat for the _Crown Prince of Thais_." She spoke the title like something she'd find at the bottom of her boots. Then she smirked. "Even we know of you and your guards. We won't be anywhere if we keep running into them, now would we?"

Anger suffused Uthar at those mocking words. He tried and finally managed to stand on his feet, but to his surprise, he didn't tower over her as he did most other people. "Get me off this ship this instance! I am not to be toyed with!"

At once, Rip's expression became so forbidding that Uthar had an urge to cringe back into a corner. "Certainly, if you wish to drown in the sea, for we are already many miles away from Thais, and I am certain the sealife could use the food a good-for-nothing lout like you would provide. However, on this ship, I am captain and my laws are absolute, and if you displease me by interfering with the running of _my ship_, I will not hesitate to drop you off the ship like so much garbage to be disposed of. There are many, after all, who were gotten rid of and were never found. So I suggest, rich boy, that you not toy with _me_. The world doesn't revolve around you, and it's high time you learn that lesson, _Prince_!"

With that final cutting remark, she dragged him by the scruff of his neck and dumped him unceremoniously in the corridor, slamming the door into his face. He suddenly felt more afraid than when he was facing her in all her anger, or when he understood that, for the first time in his life, he was far away from everything he had ever known. Someone cleared his throat, and Uthar's face heated in embarrassment, knowing that the pirate – Orc – had seen his ungraceful ejection from the captain's cabin.

"Follow me, you," was all Orc grunted before turning on his heels and walking away. Not sure why he should follow, he did anyway, fuming. And unwisely vented his temper.

"I am Prince Uthar Pendragon of Thais, and you will address me as Your Highness, you disrespectful pirate."

Quick as lightning (and Uthar wasn't quite sure what happened), Orc had him face down, flat on the cold floor, with his hands imprisoned painfully in the pirate's rougher ones. "You watch your tone, Your High-and-Mightiness, because we pirates have no use for titles and such. We only have respect for any man – or woman – worth their salt. So don't use that smart mouth of yours until you can back it up, boy, or my next lesson will involve my whips instead of my fists." With a last shove at the prince, Orc released him and started down the corridor once again.

Stunned at the vehemence yet still unrepentant, he nevertheless went quietly with Orc to the crew's sleeping quarter, where there were many bunks cramped together, with only small side tables separating them. Orc directed him to one bunk at the very end, upon which were heaped with a set of men's clothes and some basic supplies. Unable to help himself, Uthar burst out incredulously, "That's it? That's all the stuff I'm getting?"

The menacing look in Orc's eyes caused him to reassess, but old habits die hard, and he was hard pressed to scramble for an alternate statement so quickly. "I mean…"

"You watch your tongue, wetlander. I'm surprised that the captain even gave you this much consideration, when she doesn't tolerate fools easily." Uthar bristled, but Orc continued with a loving hand on the rapier belted by his side, as if debating whether or not to use it, "This is no more and no less than any crew gets to keep and use while he's at sea. You won't have time to admire your furnishings anyway," he smiled smugly (and Uthar grew more alarmed), "not when you're going to have to put in your weight for your sustenance."

"I'm supposed to _work_ on this ship for my food?" Things couldn't get much worse than this, surely?

"Why yes, wetlander." Uthar could see that Orc was enjoying this way too much. "Again, no more and no less than the rest of us. The captain's fair that way, and none of us has cause to complain, not unless you give us a reason to." He grinned smugly, then departed, but not before calling over his shoulder, "Report on deck in three hours!"

Uthar groaned, moved everything onto the side table and fell on his bunk. If he only had three hours, he might as well try to sleep off his hangover, and the exhaustion at this strange and cruel lifestyle he seemed to have fallen into. _At least the bunk was better than the floor_, was his last thought before blackness welcomed him once again.

– _To Be Continued –_


	2. The Resolution

**Birth of Dragon Dung**

Part 2: The Resolution

Of course, being the prince that he was, he wasn't able to live on anyone's schedule but his. His second rude awakening was less wet than the first… but more painful.

"What the bloody… Ow!" he shrieked as he was shoved out of bed… and straight onto the hard wooden floor. "What was that for?"

When he got up, all bristling ego (and painful bottom), it was to find another pirate, this one rougher than that last one – Orc – contemplating him.

"You're supposed to relieve my shift now," the pirate said in a rather hostile tone. "The captain was right when she said you won't wake on your own."

"Well, what did you expect?" Yet another moment of idiocy (Pendragon arrogance) and this fresh embarrassment prompted him to reply sarcastically. "I'm not one of the crew, and I'm a _royal prince_, dammit! You lot should be serving me! How dare you just shove me out of bed!"

A soft _hiss_ was all he heard before a rapier was perilously close to his throat. "Being a royal prince won't prevent me from cutting your throat, you insolent cur…"

"No, but _I_ will. You're wasting your break, Thorp. I will deal with him." It was the pirate captain, come to rescue him.

…

Er… rescue? It was _her_ fault that he was in this fine kettle of fish anyway!

"Aye, captain. Although a wetlander like him…" Thorp had yet to replace his rapier in its sheath.

"_Now_, Thorp."

Shuffling, Thorp exited the quarters, mumbling under his breath, snippets of which Uthar could hear, as Thorp did not bother to regulate his tone. "Dung brain" and "arrogant like a dragon, thinks he's so high up in the sky" particularly caught his attention. He scowled petulantly, returning his attention to Rip.

"Refusing to pitch in, are we?" she asked softly, but Uthar could detect the hint of steel in her tone. "Think you are above us?"

He turned his nose up, now that his limbs were not so heavy thanks to the effects of drink. "I don't think so. I _know_ so. You're a pirate. I'm a prince. There's no comparison necessary."

This time there was no softness masking the steel in her voice. "Wrong. I may be captain of this ship – which means that what I say holds more sway than your words – but unlike you, I earned the respect of my crew because I respect and understand them in return. I was not born a captain. I fought my way to supremacy, and I'd like to see you try the same thing."

"Respect? Why should I respect pirates?"

Mockingly, Rip replied, "Perhaps because they are worthier of respect than you. But perhaps you'd rather consider that if you don't, you won't be able to find anything edible. After all, on this ship, you'll only get what you work for. If you are a good boy and help out on the ship, I may not let you starve. If you refuse to help, maybe I'll just let you drown in your overlarge ego and feed yourself with air. Not that you need to anymore, of course." Looking Uthar up and down, she scoffed, "You're practically floating on air with your arrogant belief that everyone else is there to serve you."

Suddenly impatient, she snapped briskly, "Now get yourself up onto the deck. Your first duty is to scrub the decks." Ignoring Uthar's cry of outrage, she continued, "You'll find Orc with the necessary. He's who you'll report to in the interim. You can break for a meal in a few hours, but you can only nap in eight hours time. Now, change, unless you want to get grubby in your fancy, smelly outfit, and get going!"

"When I get back home…" he muttered menacingly. It did nothing but elicit a bark of laughter from Rip.

"Oh that's rich. But the truth is, since we've just left Thais port, we won't be returning any time soon, so it looks like you're stuck with us for the time being. Maybe you should learn to swallow your pride and learn from us in order to survive long enough to actually return home." With that parting shot, she left Uthar standing, fuming at the audacity of the pirate captain. Unwillingly, he changed into his new clothes (which he only did because he was really getting uncomfortable in his old ones) and went onto the deck (only because he had nothing better to do, of course).

The first full blast of sunshine momentarily blinded him, but when his eyes had adjusted to the light, he found the ship busy with activity. For some reason, whenever one of them spotted him, they would share a cruel, knowing wink with another. Feeling terribly isolated, he even felt a little relieved when he spotted the pirate who, just a few hours before, had given him a lesson he'd never forget quite easily.

Orc greeted him with a grunt and directed him to the items at hand, telling him which decks to scrub before saying, "I'll be at the other end if you need me. Questions?"

_Hmm… if intimidation won't work…_ "Why can't you do it? I'd be willing to pay you. Obviously not now, but when we get back to Thais…"

"Are you quite finished?" _Uh oh, it didn't work._ Orc was looking at him with murder in his eyes, his voice deceptively soft. "Your money is useless on the high seas. As I've said before, the only currency here is self-worth. Now, I have tolerated as much nonsense from you as I can stomach because of the captain's wishes, but enough is enough. If you don't shut up and get on with this, I _will_ dump you into the ocean and care less about what happened to you. Understood, Dragon Dung?"

Uthar's head snapped up. "What did you just call me?" he asked angrily.

"Dragon Dung. Thorp was right, as always. You really are a dung brain whose head is so high up in the clouds you need someone to bring you down again. Get used to it. Welcome to life on the high seas, Dragon Dung!" Orc's laughter followed him as he disappeared to… wherever he came from. Uthar didn't much care.

Of course, being a born-and-bred prince, he had not the faintest idea what to do with the items spread before him, and he was too arrogant to ask. He ended up spreading the cleaning agent straight onto the floor (instead of mixing it with water as he should), and trying to mimic the motions of the maids he had seen cleaning the Thais castle.

"In the name of the goddess, what do you think you're doing?" a cold, female voice asked.

The question was clearly rhetorical, but Uthar stubbornly met her eyes and said, "Cleaning."

Rip gave a disbelieving laugh. "Are you just dumb or did you do this deliberately? You're going to spoil the wood. Goddess preserve me from good-for-nothing idiots. Here…" And to his complete amazement, Rip mixed the soap water herself and demonstrated deck-scrubbing with a familiarity that was unexpected. She then handed the mop back to Uthar, who took it back and asked, "How…?"

"Unlike you, rich boy, I told you that I fought my way to supremacy, which means I am acquainted with even the lowest duties of a sailor. A good thing too, because to run a ship and be a fair captain one must understand and know how to do everything. Be grateful you only have me to contend with and not my old captain. Now, carry on, Dragon Dung."

A tiny groan escaped Uthar. "No, not you too. My name is Uthar Pendragon!"

"Not from this moment, you're not. Do you think any of us actually use our real names on board?" Rip chuckled with mirth.

"So your name is not really Rip? And Orc and Thorp and the whole lot of them?"

"Yes, yes, now enough chatter. Finish this in two hours or you'll be on sentry duty tonight." As she walked away, Uthar could hear Rip saying to herself, "Can't imagine what Orc'll do if anyone called _him_ by his real name. Then again, he has proven himself to be worthy of his chosen code name, after all."

Uthar expanded his chest. By the goddess, he'd prove himself worthy of _his_ name when he was through with this. And someday these disrespectful, don't-know-their-rightful-place pirates will be calling him "Dragon Dung" with as much deference as the people in Thais called him "Prince Uthar".

– _Finis –_


End file.
